Where to begin? We had a really difficult time with our guide Bill. The man had very poor communication and conservational skills. Bill never asked us a single question about ourselves past ‘where are you from?’ or what we would like to do on the tour. In fact, with the exception of parts of a few stories everything that came out of Bill’s mouth felt like it was meant to prove that he (Bill) was smart and good and everyone around him (especially tourists) are stupid and bad. I know that probably sounds like an overreach, but I promise it isn’t. For example, we asked him about how COVID effected the islands and he told us everyone thought it was the best thing ever because there were no tourists. Stories about windmills, road construction, restaurants, box lunches etc. all ended with an exasperated ‘but no one asks me’ after explaining how stupid things are. It was also off-putting that Bill seemed to think he was Hawaiian even though he was born on the mainland because he’s lived here for 20 years. Uh, I don’t think that’s how it works Bill.
Another example. My wife told Bill in the beginning we wanted to see the red sand beach. He said we would be able to go but then as we were driving past she had to ask if he would stop. He did stop, but clearly he didn’t listen to us earlier or he didn’t care. When she told him she assumed he would have reservations for the park we were stopping at that required them he said in a very condescending way “you know what ASSUME means right?”. If this was his way of joking it really didn’t go over well. Another time, she opened a bottle of Diet Coke. He immediately interrogated us “WHY did we do that?” (As if only a stupid person would bring a bottle of Diet Coke on a 10 hour car ride). After all, he had brought drinks in a cooler in the back. How about just saying “great just so you know I also brought some drinks for you if you are interested.”?
Then there was the driving. I am not the kind of guy that is safety conscious and yet Bill’s driving was over-the-top aggressive and bad. When a driver wasn’t driving fast enough for Bill he would ride their bumper 5 feet away, honk, and complain to us about how terrible it was for the locals. At one point, we passed a driver coming from the opposite direction that had pulled over and stopped on a narrow stretch to let us pass. Bill lectured the guy about how there was a yield sign. I didn’t understand what the issue was. The guy stopped and pulled over. What did Bill want him to do? There was a good hour spent like this. For me it was uncomfortable, if you get nervous with aggressive driving then it’s likely to freak you out.
Bill interacted with others throughout the trip and they seemed to love him. Maybe it was a bad day or maybe it was because they are locals - the people Bill likes. For us between the constant negativity and the aggressive driving the whole 8 hours was uncomfortable. I am a big tipper. In 25 years of ‘adulting’ I have never stiffed a server at a restaurant or a tour guide even when service isn’t great or is outright bad because I have been there and know what it’s like to have a bad day. That is no longer true. What I wanted from a guide was ‘island chill’, what I got was condescending ‘you fill in the blank’.
Ответ от хоста
Jan 2022
Aloha bsucho, thank you for letting us know about your experience with your guide. While we hope that every guest will have a 5 star adventure, we recognize that may not always be the case, and appreciate the opportunity to address this. Please know that I take your complaint to heart, and I sincerely apologize that you and your wife had such a bad experience. I understand your frustrations, from the lack of communication that is needed to build connection between guide and guests, to the driving that made you feel uncomfortable, and more. I would have been very upset in your place, as well.
What you experienced is not in line with the values and commitment we have made at Hoaloha to always be pono, or do the right thing. We are taking steps to ensure that future guests will not have the same experience you unfortunately had.
Please give us a call at 888.493.4060 and ask for Marcus, or you can email me at
[email protected], so we can discuss the situation and make it right.